Many rumours have arisen about the song's content, such as Jones' impending dismissal from The Clash or the rocky personal relationship between Jones and singer Ellen Foley, but Jones himself says, "It wasn't about anybody specific and it wasn't pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rockin' song, our attempt at writing a classic... When we were just playing, that was the kind of thing we used to like to play. -Mick Jones, 1991".

The Spanish backing vocals were sung by Joe Strummer and Joe Ely: On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish,' ... We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals. -Joe Strummer, 1991